Flutter Application Development: The Future Of Cross-Platform Mobile Apps
Over the past years, the popularity of cross-platform mobile app development has increased to a great extent. As an app development platform, it is serving the needs of forward-thinking businesses.
The most popular platforms for developing mobile apps have been Android and iOS. When developing apps for these platforms, you’ll need to write various codes. Cross-platform app development, on the other hand, allows you to save time and effort.
And, one thing is sure, cross-platform app development is here to stay, and it’s only going to get bigger. Various tools have been created to make cross-platform app development more straightforward.
According to a Statista report, Flutter is the only cross-platform application development framework whose demand is continually rising, and it increased in 2020 among the different cross-platform application development frameworks available on the market.
Flutter Application Development: The Future Of Cross-Platform Mobile Apps
Flutter has a lot of potential to become the future of cross-platform mobile app development. In this article, I’ll take you through the basics to help you understand what Flutter is and why it’s an excellent choice for cross-platform development.
Let’s start…
Flutter: A Brief Introduction
Introduction To Flutter
Flutter is a free, open-source software development framework created by Google. Even though it was only released in 2017, this software development kit has sparked a lot of interest among developers worldwide.
It lets you create a native mobile app from a single codebase. This means that you can use the same programming language to create two different apps (for iOS and Android).
This development kit has been used by several well-known apps, including eBay, Alibaba, Tencent, and others. Many businesses hire flutter developers to help them launch their unique digital solutions.
Benefits of flutter app development
What Makes Flutter Unique?
Flutter has already attracted many businesses due to its quick and simple mobile app development process. The following are some critical characteristics of Flutter that we believe you should be aware of:
- Hot Reload is functionality that is included with Flutter. This functionality is handy for those who are busy resolving bugs or experimenting with new designs. Within a few seconds, any changes you make using Flutter are visible in real-time.
- Also, in terms of performance, Flutter outperforms its native counterparts. Flutter makes use of Dart to assist developers in creating a fantastic user experience.
- A one-time coding feature ensures you’re not maintaining two separate files for iOS and Android versions of a similar app. Also, you can construct high-performance apps using existing codes.
Flutter features
Flutter - The Future of Cross-App Development, Know-how?
There are plenty of cross-platform app development frameworks that have established themselves in the market and function well.
However, we cannot avoid issues such as slow app performance, UI rendering, app look and feel across platforms, and testing and development obstacles.
Given the limitations and challenges, Google created Flutter, a one-size-fits-all solution that generates beautiful and natively built apps for all platforms from a single codebase.
Flutter is based on the Dart programming language, and it can be integrated into existing applications, saving you the time and effort of beginning from scratch.
Here are the prominent reasons why Flutter is revolutionizing cross-platform mobile app development.
1. Excellent Documentation
Flutter is entirely supported by Google’s Material Design team because it is a Google product. Flutter app development becomes a lot easier, even for beginners, thanks to this support.
The framework includes extensive documentation to assist developers in getting started on a project. The documentation is comprehensive, allowing programmers to solve any problem that may arise during the project.
The platform recognizes that many developers who belong to various communities may use their SDK, and that many will be new to their declarative UI design. As a result, Flutter provides extensive and easy-to-understand documentation on how to get the most out of the platform.
2. Single Codebase
I’ve already shed some light on this feature of Flutter. Let’s talk about it a little more. It’s a hassle-free app development platform because it uses the same codebase for every platform, whether it is on iOS, Android, or the web.
App development frameworks that can finish the whole process with minimal effort, cost, and time are always in demand by businesses.
Flutter is the perfect platform for startups that are just getting started in the digital business world and want to save time and money.
3. Faster App Development
Faster app development
The Flutter framework is built to encourage rapid development while also lowering testing time. As I previously stated, Flutter’s main advantage is its single codebase and hot reload capability, which allows developers to create a working app quickly.
As a result, developers can swiftly build and test their apps in real-time, resulting in decreased app development costs.
Entrepreneurs trying to develop a minimal viable product for their business idea can use Flutter to produce a working prototype that they can present to potential investors or reach the market.
4. Complete Customizable Widgets
Flutter comes with a large number of widgets for creating user interfaces. The Flutter Library includes widgets that are quick and adaptable, making it useful for future development.
You can customize it to cater to all the demands of your clients. Material Design and Cupertino are two sets of widgets included with Flutter.
Material Design follows Google’s design principles, while Cupertino follows Apple’s iOS Human Interface guidelines. This provides developers with a plethora of creative options for creating sleek looking applications.
These widgets are exceptionally portable and responsive for creating a mobile application because they can be utilized across many platforms and layouts.
5. Improved Performance
Performance is a crucial reason why app developers embrace Flutter. Let’s compare Flutter to its nearest competitor, React Native, to better understand its capabilities.
React Native uses UI building blocks while running JavaScript in another thread. As a result, a bridge is required to allow native modules to communicate. This procedure is both time- and resource-intensive.
Flutter, on the other hand, compiles everything. It combines the app functionality and user interface modules into machine code, allowing the app to run faster and perform better.
Flutter apps are faster than React Native apps, and also native apps created for specific platforms, thanks to this methodology.
Since today’s users value speed and usability above all, Flutter is likely to become the platform of choice for businesses in the future.
6. Best for MVP
The Minimal Viable Product (MVP) is a product that requires minimum functionality and features in order to understand the needs of the potential audience.
While simultaneously providing enough feedback to allow for future product iteration, the MVP prototype encapsulates the heart of the business concept and is intended to achieve the primary objective.
When you want to get your business to market faster or show your investors a functional prototype, an MVP is the way to go. Flutter is ideal for creating a minimal viable product for your business because it speeds up development and offers an appealing UI design layout.
7. Development Costs Are Lower
The cost of development is something you can’t disregard while creating a mobile app. A mobile app development project typically costs around $30,000. Of course, the cost can go as high as $100,000, depending on the specifications.
Startups and small enterprises do not have the same financial resources as giant corporations. Furthermore, development costs aren’t the only thing to consider. You must also consider additional costs such as team building, server costs, marketing, and so on.
Flutter significantly lowers the cost of mobile app development. You don’t need platform-specific developers because of the same codebase.
You can hire Flutter developers to create cross-platform apps. Even if you are on a limited budget, you can get a cross-platform application up and running, thanks to the low testing requirements.
8. Faultless Firebase Integration and 2-D Flare
Firebase is a well-known Backend-as-a-Service (BaaS) platform for app development that many of you may not be familiar with. Flutter is compatible with Firebase, which is one of the main reasons why the two can work together effectively.
As a result, features like analytics, crash reporting, and databases become easier for developers. Flutter is the best pick if you’re seeking a platform that will help you build interactive animations.
Flutter includes a vector-based animation tool called 2-D Flare, which is helpful for UI design and gaming apps. Within the app, you can create dynamic animations and designs.
9. Ample Marketing Time
Many online messaging platforms followed WhatsApp to market, but none were as successful as WhatsApp. As a result of the competition, it’s critical to get to market as soon as feasible.
When you’re the first to offer services, you’ll have an advantage over your competitors because you’ll have a few extra months to advertise yourself effectively.
You have more time to sell your apps because you can develop them faster with Flutter while utilizing fewer resources, which results in more profits, sales, and publicity for your business.
What impact will Flutter have on the Future of App Development in 2021 and Beyond?
Flutter, I feel, will continue to grow in 2021 and beyond. With Flutter, the face of app development will be changed for the better. In the coming days, you can expect the following updates in this app. Take a look:
- Null safety features will be added to Dart; Google’s programming language. This would mean null safety for the migration of any file system and package within Flutter.
- Flutter will leverage improved ergonomics to boost its performance on both Android and iOS platforms.
- For Linux, Windows, and mac-OS, developers can anticipate production-quality support.
- You may also anticipate the entire Flutter framework to perform well in terms of memory utilization, storage, runtime performance, and so on.
Bottom Lines
So, these are the reasons why I believe that at the rate at which Flutter is growing, the framework will come to dominate the cross-platform development space in the future. More and more businesses are adopting Flutter as they are seeing the platform’s many benefits that will reflect in the coming years.
If you want to build your digital solution on a future-proof platform, get in touch with a top flutter app development company in India immediately to start developing your future-ready app.
